Facebook smashes profit expectations

Social media mega-company Facebook has tripled its quarterly profits, pushing its shares up 10 percent.

Profit was US$1.51b (NZ$2.15b) on the back of advertising revenues of US$5.2b (NZ$7.46b).

Expert commentary focussed on how Facebook has managed to change itself from a website for sharing baby photos to a company that wants to expand like Google, with heavy investments in virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.

Facebook listed in 2012 and at the end of its first day's trading, its shares were at US$38. Today they were up 10 percent on the day, reaching US$117.60.